Cap adapter



.Jimfe 10 1924, 1,495,910

` O. P. SMTH CAP ADAPTER Patented June l0, 1924.

vrr

CAP ADAPTER.

application ined May a,

To all whom t 'may concern.' y Be it known vthat I, OLIVER PRESTO SMITH,a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Chicago, in the county ofCook and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements inCap' Adapters, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, andexact description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawing,forming a part of this specification. This inventionrelates to acap adapter, and more particularly to Van vadapter whereby a largevariety of threaded nipples of dierent sizes and4 different threadgauges fitted on automobile radiators can be readily standardized to asingle and uniform size and thread gauge. Y

The present trend in the motor World is to substitute fancy and ornatecaps, for the ordinary and simple cap in almost universal use onradiators heretofore. However, the nipples on the radiators to whichthese fancy caps must be attached differ in many respects, asforexample, the size; gauge of thread, and whether itis threaded withinorf'without, etc. A great saving would consequentlyvbe eected andaremarkable convenience attainedif a standardized fitting l wereprovided whereby one size of cap could be fitted to and on any vand allnipples irrespective of the size and `character Aof the threading of thenipple. i

, It is one of the objects ofthis invention,

therefore, to provide a cap adapter whereby Y a standardized size oflcap can be securedto any size of radiator nipple of a size somewhatsmaller than the size ofthe cap selected as the standard. l .Anotherobject of the invention residesin the production of simple and elficientcap adapters fitted with a self-sealing means bei'tween the adapter andthe nipple'.

Another object resides in the production of a cap'adapter which isexceedingly simple in construction and which can be very cheaplymanufactured.

, Other objects of the invention will become apparent from theaccompanying drawings,

the following description and the appendedy claims. c

For the purpose of illustration, the preferred form of cap adapterconstructed in accordance with the teachings of this inven- 1921.'serial No. 468,160.

tion is illustratedl in the accompanying drawings, in which: V v y Fig.1 is a view in side elevation of the adapter fittedl on the radiatornipple;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through the nipple and cap adapter;

Fig-3 is a longitudinal section taken at right angles to the sectionshown in Fig. 2,

and illustrates in detail the manner of a,t=V

taching the adapter to the radiator nipple;

Fig. 4 isa bottom and, Y

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the adapter. Figure 6 is a detailed View of oneof the plates comprising the mechanism for retaining the cap adapter inposition. V- Y As illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3,`inclusive, th cap adapter8 is secured to the usual nipple 9 attached to the radiator casing 10.The adapter comprises an annulus or disk 11 which is preferably inclinedat a slight angle from the horizontal, as clearly illustratedin Fig. 2.Secured to and depending from this disk 11 is a flange 12 on-one sidethereofy and a flange 13i on the other side thereof.

view of the cap adapter;

"The flange`12l is fitted with-the threads 14 to gasket 17 serves toseal the connection beannulus down into position onthe edgey 1 8,

which results in a sliding action between the edgeH 18 of, theradiatornipple. and the Vgasket 17,l and this results in a permanent seal at theinterconnection.

' Any suitable means canbe utilized for permanently positioning andsecuring the cap on the radiator nipple 9. In the preferred form shownin the drawings, this is effected by a toggle bolt construction clearlyillustrated in Figs. 2, 3 and 4. The toggle bolt mechanism utilized tohold the cap in its position consists of the bolts'20 and 421 which arethreaded through perforatio'ns in the ears 15 and 16, respectively. Eachof these` bolts is fitted with platessuch as 22 and 23, respectively,which are pivoted at their inner ends on pins such as 2d and 25,respectively. The pin 25 is equipped with a spiral spring such as 26which serves to hold the plates 22 and 23 in their extendedsubstantially horizont-al position, as illustrated in Figs. 3 and 1.Secured to the plates 22 and 23 is a disk such as 23 which receives thebolts 2O and 21, and thereby secures these plates and their associatedapparatus to said bolts. interconnecting the plates 22 is the metallicstrap 30, and a similar strap interconnects the plates 23.

From the construction illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, it will be evidentthat the plates 22 and 23 can be moved upwardly about the pivots 24 and25 against the action of the spring 26. Due to this movement the widthof the metallic straps 30 and 31, secured to the plates 22 and 23, canbe materially reduced and this will permit the introduction of theplates 22 and 23 and the associated metallic straps 30 and 31 into thenipple opening 32. When the mechanism is thus introduced into the nippleopening 32 and slid down into position, so that the plates 22 and 23 andthe straps 30 and 31 drop below the lower plane of the nipple opening,they will expand, due to the action of the spring 26, and assume aposition as shown in Fig. 3; whereby the straps 30 and 31, when thebolts 20 and 21 are drawn tight, will contact with and be drawn upagainst the radiator casing 10.

Upon expanding the plates 22 and 23, the

edges 35 thereofare brought against the sides of the bolts 2O and 21, asindicated at 36 in Fig. 3. Consequently further move- `ment of theseplates will be prevented, so that collapsing of the plates 22 and 23 ina downward direction is impossible. 1t will now be evident that theconstruction illustrated and hereinbefore described can be inserted andsecured to any size of radiator nipple, since, by collapsing themetallic straps 30 and 31 and their associated plates, this portion ofthe cap adapter can be readily slipped into the radiator nipple openingand into position, as illustrated in `Fig. 3.

When the metallic straps 30 and 31 are thus positioned, the bolts 2O and21 are tightened and this will securely clamp the cap adapter on thenipple, the clamping or Ibinding being effected between the edge 13 ofthe nipple and the gasket 17 and the straps 30 and 31 and the radiatorcasing 10. It will be evident that as the cap adapter is drawn intoposition by the interconnection between the metallic straps 30 and 31and the radiator casing 10, that an automatic sealing will resultbetween the gasket 17 and the upper edge 18 of the radiator nipple. Whenvthe cap adapter 8 is thus securely fixed in position in the nipple 9,the outer depending ingenio flange 12 will receive the standard size offancy or ornate cap which it is desired to substitute for the cap whichhad been fitted on the threads 34 of the nipple 9. The cap adapter 8constructed in accordance with the teachings of this invention,therefore, serves to adapt-the radiator nipples of sizes somewhatsmaller than the size of the standard cap selected, so that thestandardized cap can be readily litted on said nipple by means of saidadapter without making any change in the nipple construction and with aminimum amount of eflort.

rlhe adapter illustrated in the drawings and described herein,therefore, marks a disl tinct advance in the use of fancy or ornate capssince it simplifies the stocking problem to the point where the jobberor dealer need carry but one size of cap-the standardized size-insteadof keeping in stock caps of different sizes, of different thread gauge,and of different character, depending upon whether they are threadedwithin or without to fit the large variety of radiator nipples on themarket. y

(lbviously, the invention is not limited to the specific embodimentthereof described herein, but capable of other applications any manyvariations as set out in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what 1 claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. lin a cap adapter, in combination, a disk, flanges depending fromeach edge of said disk, and means associated and cooperating with one ofsaid flanges to secure said adapter to all standard sizes of radiatornipples, said disk spacing said flanges apart a distance greater thanthe thickness of the walls of said radiator nipples.

2. ln a cap adapter, in combination, an annulus, flanges depending fromeach edge of said annulus, standardized means asso ciated andcooperating with one of said flanges to secure said adapter to allstandard sizes or" radiator nipples, and threads on said other flangeadapted to receive a standardized radiator cap, said annulus spacingsaid flanges apart a distance greater than the thickness of the walls ofsaid radiator nipg ples.

3. In a cap adapter, in combination, a disk, flanges depending from eachedge of said disk, standardized means associated and cooperating withone of said flanges to secure said adapter to all standard sizes ofradiator nipples, and means cooperating with said disk to seal theinterconnection between said nipple and disk, said disk spac ing saidflanges apart a distance greater than the thickness of the walls of saidradiator nipples.

4. ln a cap adapter, in combination, an annular disk positioned at aninclination from the horizontal, a lange depending from said disk, meanssecured to said flange for attaching said adapter to a radiator nipple,means to bindingly secure the adapter to said nipple, and a gasketassociated with said disk which automatically seals the connectionbetween the adapter and the nipple as the adapter is secured inposition.

5. In a cap adapter, in combination, an annular disk positioned at aninclination from the horizontal, a flange depending from said disk,means secured to said flange for attaching said adapter to a radiatornipple, a toggle joint mechanism to bindingly secure the adapter to saidnipple, and a gasket associated with said disk which automatically sealsthe connection between the adapter and the nipple as the adapter issecured in position.

6. In a cap adapter, in combination, a cap element adapted to bepositioned at the mouth of a radiator nipple, means connected to saidcap element and lying below the lower plane of said nipple for securingsaid cap element in position, said means being collapsible in onedirection only for permitting insertion and preventing removal thereoffrom said nipple, said means being adjustable relative to said capelement whereby said means may be positioned along its connectionaccording to the depth of said nipple.

7. In a device of the class described, a radiator adapter adapted to bepositioned at the mouth of a radiator nipple, mechanism for permanentlyholding said adapter in position, said mechanism including meanspermitting insertion of said mechanism into said nipple but preventingthe removal thereof after inserted.

8. A cap adapter comprising a cap receiving element positioned at themouth of a radiator nipple said element provided with a standardizedthread gauge whereby any of a desired plurality of dilerent ornate capsmay be mounted thereon, standardized means cooperating with said elementwhereby said element may be secured to nipples of different but smallersizes without requiring a variation in the design or construction ofsaid standardized means, and means carried by said cap receiving elementfor automatically sealing the connection between the element and thenipple.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name.

OLIVER PRESTON SMITH.

